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Baron von Steuben's Retreat Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

TEAM GAWFER: Looks like cache is missing, so we picked up cache.

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Hidden : 7/9/2006
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

HISTORY OF THE ACTION AT POINT OF FORK -

June 1781 During the American Revolution, on the point of land at the confluence of the James and Rivanna Rivers known as “the Point of Fork,” the Commonwealth of Virginia had established a state arsenal for the collection of military stores. The protection of this important post was entrusted to Baron von Steuben, who shared command of the American troops in Virginia with the Marquis de LaFayette.

229 years ago, during his Virginia Campaign of 1781, General Lord Cornwallis sent a detachment of Queen's Rangers under the command of Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe to capture the Commonwealth of Virginia's chief military arsenal located at Point of Fork, in present-day Columbia, Virginia.

When Lt. Colonel Simcoe arrived at the Point of Fork, he found that the American stores had been removed, and that Steuben’s troops had crossed over to the south side of the James River, except for about 30 men who were still waiting for the return of the boats in order to cross the River. These men unavoidably fell into the hands of the British cavalry.

The River at the Point of Fork was deep and unfordable without boats – and all the boats had been secured on the south side of the James River by the Americans. Therefore, Simcoe’s main objective of capturing or destroying the military supplies and the American troops had been frustrated.

This cache is located very near the route that the Baron used to escape Simcoe. Unfortunately, in his rush to escape, the arsenal he was charged with guarding fell into British hands and was destroyed.

The cache is a 7.2 mm ammunition can that was left behind by The Baron (not really but let's pretend).

There is a disposable camera in the cache, we would appreciate a photo of you and/or your group and a note in the log as to which exposure is yours.

Hope you enjoy the Baron's Retreat.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gjragl bar fragvaryf nyy va n ebj, ab arrq gb tb orlbaq gurz gb ybpngr gur pnpur

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)